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What's up with some vintage SW figure sellers out there?? I cannot believe how many complete & utter idiots iv'e dealt with so far in my several months of getting back into collecting.

One seller a month ago sent me around 40 loose figures, described as in "excellent condition with very good paint" and when I received them all they were some of the most sorry looking beaters iv'e seen so far, tons of paint loss, very bad loose & floppy limbs, and no joke... at least one arm joint on every single figure that had cloth string wrapped around the joints ( the exact same coloured string on all of them ), and I was told I was lying when I complained about it.

Now currently iv'e been dealing with another seller now for 2 weeks to get a large purchase posted out, I listened to lazy excuse after excuse as to why they weren't posted and repeated promises, and 2 or 3 days at a time to respond to the simplest question, the item of which only finally got posted because I gave a time limit / ultimatum before opening a dispute. A very disrespectful service for handing over a few hundred £ to somebody. ( Still waiting for this package to arrive )

Then today I receive a C-3PO in great condition for a good price, was specifically told after I asked that this IS the fixed limbs version with tight limbs so I immediately bought it ( was excited to receive it ), I open the package this morning to find a removable limbs C-3PO, what the hell!??

And then not to mention the ones who have sent a carded figure in a plastic bag thinking the single layer of bubble wrap will stop it from getting crushed ( then bubble gets crushed ), after being told it will be sent in a box to protect it.

I know not to usually let shit like this ever get to me, but it completely baffles me why some people are so god damn brain dead they barely have 2 brain cells to bloody rub together. If they actually put their effort into doing something right those 2 brain cells would fucking explode. From some pictures it's a bit difficult to tell conditions or exactly what you're looking at, so then you ask questions about it, but when you are then told the complete opposite of what you actually receive afterwards it makes me wanna go rage mode

Some people are a complete waste of time & effort, anyone else have similar experiences?

You don't own your toys, you only borrow themuntil you sell them or die!

Wow, you sound like you've had some really bad experiences, and have my sincere sympathies! I must say, the great majority of eBay sellers I have bought from either did know what they were doing with regards to packaging, or in some cases got bloody lucky, as I have had remarkably few horror stories over the years. However, it's well worth doing what it sounds like you're doing anyway, which is to always check with the seller in advance how an item will be packed for posting. If you want them to use a Star Case and lots of additional packing around that Star Case in a very sturdy double-walled cardboard box, tell them so! These days I never assume someone knows how to pack stuff unless their feedback (which you should of course always, but always check before buying) is superb, and even then I still often contact them to check. Once they have confirmed in writing that they will pack something to your satisfaction, you have an even stronger case against them if they fail to do so.

Having said all of that, you can't always guard against idiocy. The two worst packing incidents I've ever experienced personally were a boxed Dewback posted from America a few years ago with just a single layer of bubble wrap around it, and that then covered in a single thickness of brown paper! Almost unbelievably, mostly thanks to the presence of the Dewback's inner packaging and immense good fortune in how it was handled in transit, whilst it certainly did sustain damage in the post, it only dropped the box condition down by about a point and a half out of ten; incredibly fucking annoying to be sure, but it could so easily have been a whole hell of a lot worse!

The other incident was when I received a carded figure 'wrapped' in a single thickness of cardboard. The cardboard had been creased twice to fold it into a close-fitting, open ended triangle (not a box) about the figure, with one side of the cardboard triangle directly touching the back of the card, and with the bubble contained within the narrow base of the triangle formed. It's a little hard to explain, but believe me when I say that with literally no additional protection other than being shoved inside a plastic mailing bag, I regard it as nothing short of a miracle that it arrived completely undamaged! It had absolutely no business surviving such feeble packing unscathed, but somehow it did. However, because it was undamaged, I could not in all conscience leave the seller negative feedback, however neither could I leave matters at that. I therefore politely contacted the seller, thanked them for sending the figure and explained that whilst it had arrived undamaged (they had advised before I bid that they would 'pack it very well'!), it could incredibly easily have been badly damaged, and that they could equally easily face a seriously unhappy customer next time. I advised them that most of the value of Vintage Star Wars is in the packaging, not the item itself (it's almost amazing how many people still don't know this, so never be afraid of stating what seems to be the bleeding obvious! ). I therefore strongly urged them to send any future figures inside Star cases, which in turn should be very well protected on all sides within a very sturdy box. They replied thanking me for taking the trouble to contact them and seemed genuinely grateful for the advice.

Lately ebay seems like a 50/50 chance game if i'm gonna get a complete idiot, I can tell even by the way they word their messaging after the sale that they just seem a bit dim lol, sending questions off or requests and getting blunt messages back just saying "Yes"... with no other details or conversation. It makes me wonder if i'm dealing with a 5 year old kid, but shockingly no these are full grown adults apparently.

Yes every single purchase now I always, always ask for things to be packaged up properly but like you say if it's an amazing regular vintage seller with stellar feedback then I always know things will be fine. You got very lucky also with those purchases you made, usually when something is packaged so poorly it very rarely turns up unscathed. I had a guy once post something in a large box loose without any bubblewrap or paper whatsoever so it was just rattling around loose inside the box, and it only had half the top of the box present and just stuck a couple of strips of tape over the giant gap... lol, everybody handling that box could just look right in and see what it was, it could have easily got nicked or lost due to the hole in it.

Not many things in this world annoy me, but dumb people and blatant liars?.. ggrrrr!

You don't own your toys, you only borrow themuntil you sell them or die!

Sounds like you've had a mare but you're only experiencing what we all do every now and then. The simple fact is if there's a problem with an item that is not described or pointed out in the listing description then you're entitled to return it for a full refund regardless of the photos. And if it turns up not in the exact condition it was when it left the seller due to poor packaging or damage in transit you are also entitled to a full refund. Just start a return request and job done. It's a ballache but it's just part of the hobby, no point getting wound up about it until it costs you money. I bought an Imp Dig the other week described as "mint". When it arrived it had a little chunk of plastic missing out the top of the hat and one on the back of the leg. I sent it back, no probs, got a refund and the seller will receive positive feedback. I must be lucky cos I've not had too many bad experiences, but I've had a few as a seller as well, the door swings both ways.

I bought a Rancor Keeper Vibroblade off of a seller. He posted it in a plain white envelope, no bubble wrap, no nothing. It turned up all mangled with the item poking out through the front.

I was also bidding on a Leia blaster and he had Palace Blasters and Endor blasters for sale. I'm so glad I didn't win any of those. He could have had some almighty unhappy customers and been well out of pocket if those had all got damaged in the same way.

Don't know if he was trying to save himself a bob or too or just a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic. He refunded me though and told me not to bother returning it. So it all came good in the end.

Yeah I suppose like you guys say it's all part of the hobby really, I do always manage to return and get refunded no problems ( so far ), i'm just mostly venting about it because it does wind me up a bit with how stupid some people can be. I think I do need to just accept it more and realise it WILL happen sometimes and in a way expect it to happen, and when it does just take a breather and sort it out.

I think most of where being wound up comes from with me is the absolute let down it feels like when iv'e been waiting for days all excited to see a new purchase arrive, to just see a pile of shit turn up and ruin my excitement haha and then I have to send something back that I considered to be 'mine' when I paid for it.. so yeah I think from now on I need to not get my hopes up and not even consider it as mine yet until it turns up as described, as soon as I receive it and it's all good then I should say to myself the transaction is completed.

You don't own your toys, you only borrow themuntil you sell them or die!

subzero wrote:Yeah I suppose like you guys say it's all part of the hobby really, I do always manage to return and get refunded no problems ( so far ), i'm just mostly venting about it because it does wind me up a bit with how stupid some people can be. I think I do need to just accept it more and realise it WILL happen sometimes and in a way expect it to happen, and when it does just take a breather and sort it out.

I think most of where being wound up comes from with me is the absolute let down it feels like when iv'e been waiting for days all excited to see a new purchase arrive, to just see a pile of shit turn up and ruin my excitement haha and then I have to send something back that I considered to be 'mine' when I paid for it.. so yeah I think from now on I need to not get my hopes up and not even consider it as mine yet until it turns up as described, as soon as I receive it and it's all good then I should say to myself the transaction is completed.

subzero wrote:Yeah I suppose like you guys say it's all part of the hobby really, I do always manage to return and get refunded no problems ( so far ), i'm just mostly venting about it because it does wind me up a bit with how stupid some people can be. I think I do need to just accept it more and realise it WILL happen sometimes and in a way expect it to happen, and when it does just take a breather and sort it out.

I think most of where being wound up comes from with me is the absolute let down it feels like when iv'e been waiting for days all excited to see a new purchase arrive, to just see a pile of shit turn up and ruin my excitement haha and then I have to send something back that I considered to be 'mine' when I paid for it.. so yeah I think from now on I need to not get my hopes up and not even consider it as mine yet until it turns up as described, as soon as I receive it and it's all good then I should say to myself the transaction is completed.

As all ready mentioned, that the way to look at it.I always expect the worse so when something goes nice and smoothly its more of a result. No point in getting wound up, it can all be sorted.

I've had over 80 transactions on eBay for vintage Star Wars and everything was excellent , with the only exception being the post office lost my cloud car pilot with original accessories in the post ? Not the sellers fault .